3 More Easy Ways to Eat Better Today

We kicked off last with 4 ways you could start eating better immediately.  We covered:

1. Don’t skip meals.
2. Eat your fruit; don’t drink it.
3. Plan ahead.
4. Use your hands.

To review those tips in detail, click here.  Now, I’m going to give you 3 more tips.  Because we can forever find ways to help improve our eating habits that don’t cost us a fortune, that aren’t complicated and that we can start implementing right away.

Tip # 5: Slow down.

I probably should have started my tips with this one.  Far too many of us eat far too quickly.  Life is crazy and I get it.  Eating is one of life’s pleasures. Don’t’ squander it by rushing through every bite. Let your tastebuds celebrate what you’re offering them.  When you take time to enjoy your meals you’re making every mouthful count.  Adjusting your pace and making mealtimes a “time out” will help you focus on quality over quantity.

If my coaching clients leave working with me having only learned one thing, I hope it’s to slow down. I say this so often because it’s so very important. Eating slowly is more important than what you eat, where you eat, why you eat or when you eat.  By slowing down everything else falls into place better.

It takes approximately 20 minutes for the satiation signals to go from your gut to your brain.  By slowing down, you’re giving yourself a chance to feel fuller when you’re actually full.  You will be far less likely to overeat if you can sense when you’re full.  In addition, by slowing down and being more mindful of your food you’ll give yourself the opportunity to fully savour and enjoy what you’re eating. If you love the taste of that chocolate so much, why don’t you want to savour it in your mouth for as long as possible?  Why are you so quick to gulp it down?

Slow down. It will help you eat less and you’ll enjoy your food more.

Tip # 6: Eat dessert once.

This may sound ridiculous but many of us have a sugar habit that makes dessert a day-long investment in crap eating. We eat sugary cereal, fruity yogurt, pancakes and pastries in the morning and call it breakfast.  We sweeten our coffee. We reach for candy at our desks. We have cookies after lunch and then we ‘treat ourselves’ to ice cream after dinner.

All those sugary things really ad up.  Choose ONE time of day to indulge in something sweet. (I’d recommend making that time in the evening because many people find that starting the day with sugar makes us crave more of it strongly throughout the rest of the day, but you do you).  Either way, limit yourself to 150 calories or so and then call it done. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel when you limit your sugar intake without completely denying yourself.

Tip # 7: Swap out the high-calorie beverages for water

Walk straight past the soda machine, skip the double-mocha latte Frappuccino macchiato and head right to the water fountain.  Water really is your best friend.  Drinking it is like showering your body from the inside out, rinsing away toxins, filling you up, hydrating your hair and skin, decreasing your appetite and increasing your energy.  And most of us aren’t drinking nearly enough.  This is an easy swap with tonnes of health benefits. Drink up!

Now, was that so hard? Every one of the 7 tips I’ve given you over the last two weeks is something you can try today without any extra preparation. Eating better doesn’t have to be painful.  My weight loss and fitness philosophies are based on baby steps because, at the end of the day, those baby steps really do pay off big time.  So on that note, if you feel like all 7 of these tips are REALLY too much, start with just one.  Do it often, consistently. Practice it until you are doing it without even thinking about it. That’s when you’ll be ready to try adding another one.

I help busy professional women who struggle with nutrition and fitness silence their inner daemons and get healthy, so they can love the way they feel in their own skin with the confidence they need to conquer their lives.

I provide you with the support, guidance and tools you need to break down big goals into small, simple, actionable steps that you can do every day, consistently to build sustainable fitness and nutrition behaviours without feeling miserable about it!

Live healthier, happier, stronger and with more confidence.

Is nutrition coaching right for you?  Take my free survey here to find out.

4 Easy Ways to Eat Better Today

Does the idea of eating healthier make you panic?

Is your first thought that you need to change everything, buy special food and follow some really restrictive diet plan?  Does the idea of “eating better” piss you off a bit, even?

I’ve got your back. Here are seven tips you can incorporate today without ever setting foot in the grocery store or cracking open a cookbook.

Eating better is something EVERYONE can do to improve their health. And it doesn’t have to be time-consuming, difficult or stressful.

Tip # 1: Don’t skip meals.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in a hurry, you need to eat your breakfast.  Skipping meals is one of those dietary pitfalls most people indulge in.

We don’t have the time.
We’re hoarding calories for dinner.
We have a meeting.

STOP making excuses for not taking care of yourself.

Spreading your food intake over the course of your day will keep you properly fueled, prevent you from overindulging, and keep your metabolism in peak form.  Do make your body guess when you’ll feed it again. Regular your energy, work side-by-side with your body by giving it the consistency of regular meal timing.

Tip # 2: Eat your fruit; don’t drink it.

Healthy fruit juice is a myth.  Fruit is delicious but it’s high in natural sugar.  When whole it’s also high in vitamins and fibre. Fibre slows the digestion of sugar which helps prevent a spike in your blood sugar.  When juiced, the fibre and vitamins are filtered out.  A serving of whole fruit can satiate your craving for sweets and fill you up, while a glass of fruit juice will spike your blood sugar levels and increases your risk for blood sugar disorders like diabetes!

For Heaven’s sake. get off the juice train if you’re on it. Start eating your fruit instead!

Tip # 3: Plan ahead.

Grab and go eating is the norm for most of us.  And unless you learn to plan ahead, you end up grabbing processed snacks and prepared foods that are filling your body with unwanted sodium, chemicals and other garbage.  Instead of reaching for what’s convenient at the last minute, take ten minutes a day to scribble out a game plan for the rest of your day in order to make healthy convenient when the time comes.  A tablespoon of peanut butter and some celery, or a hard-boiled egg and carrot sticks will fuel you so much better than a bag of chips or a candy bar and all you have to do is think ahead a little.

Tip # 4. Use your hands.

I admit, measuring everything is a hassle.  The reality is that portion sizes matter – a lot.  It doesn’t matter what you eat, if you eat too much of it you will not lose weight. That is a fact.  The easiest way to mind your portions is to use your own hand.  Hand sizes vary, and this is a good thing. No matter how much you’re tempted, do not pull out the measuring cups.  A smaller person who has smaller hands needs smaller portion sizes.  Your hand is the perfect measure for your needs.

General portioning guidelines are as follows:

Protein: 1 palm-sized portion (imagine cutting your hand off at the wrist, and then cutting all of your fingers and thumb off. Your palm that’s left is the ideal size of your portion.)

Good Fat: 1 thumb-sized portion

Veggies (not including starchy carbs): 1-2 fist-sized portions (imagine making a fist and then cutting your hand off at the wrist. The size of your fist is the ideal size of veggies.)

Carbs and Fruit: 1 cupped handful portion (imagine using your hand to cup up a portion of rice – it should be level, not heaping.)

For more detailed information on this, or to learn how to personalize your portion sizes even further download the “Create the Perfect Meal Infograph” found here.

This is easy work and easy is good.  Especially easy work that gets you results.

I help busy professional women who struggle with nutrition and fitness silence their inner daemons and get healthy, so they can love the way they feel in their own skin with the confidence they need to conquer the rest of their lives.

Contact me if you’ve got questions.